Fatal work injuries totaled 104 in 2023 for Louisiana, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that the number of work-related fatalities in Louisiana was down from the previous year. (See chart 1.) Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 187 in 1994 to a low of 95 in 2003 and 2016. Nationwide, a total of 5,283 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2023, a 3.7-percent decrease from 5,486 in 2022, according to the results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Number of fatal occupational injuries by employee status, Louisiana, 2014–23

Year	Total	Wage and salary	Self-employed
2014	120	94	26
2015	112	90	22
2016	95	80	15
2017	117	94	23
2018	98	85	13
2019	119	102	17
2020	103	88	15
2021	141	124	17
2022	120	101	19
2023	104	92	12
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Transportation incidents (29) were the most frequent type of fatal event in Louisiana, accounting for 28 percent of all fatal work injuries in the state. Nationally the share was 37 percent. (See chart 2 and table 1.)

• Exposure to harmful substances or environments (25) accounted for 24 percent of Louisiana workplace fatalities; nationally the share was 16 percent.

  

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Percent distribution of total fatal occupational injuries by event, United States and Louisiana, 2023

Event	United States	Louisiana
Transportation incidents	37	28
Exposure to harmful substances, environments	16	24
Contact incidents	15	20
Violent acts	14	15
All other	19	13
Note: Percents may not add to total due to rounding. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• The construction sector had the highest number of fatalities with 28. (See table 2.)

• Exposure to harmful substances or environments resulted in 9 of the 28 construction sector fatalities.

• The specialty trade contractors subsector accounted for 12 of the sector’s fatal workplace injuries.

• The transportation and material moving occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries with 34. (See table 3.)

• Transportation incidents resulted in 14 of the transportation and material moving fatalities.

• Motor vehicle operators accounted for 13 of the major group’s fatal workplace injuries.

• Wage and salary workers accounted for 88 percent of workplace fatalities in Louisiana; the self-employed comprised the remaining 12 percent. (See chart 1 and table 4.) Nationally, wage and salary workers comprised 83 percent of fatalities.

• Males accounted for 93 percent of the work-related fatalities in Louisiana, compared to 91 percent nationally.

• Workers 25-54 years old accounted for 63 percent of the state’s work-related fatalities, compared to 57 percent of on-the-job fatalities nationally.

• White non-Hispanics accounted for 62 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 56 percent of work-related deaths. Blacks or African Americans, non-Hispanic, accounted for 25 percent of those who died from a workplace injury. Nationwide, this group accounted for 12 percent of work-related deaths.

Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, is a count of all fatalities resulting from workplace injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. For technical information and definitions for the CFOI, see the national CFOI release Technical notes, the BLS Handbook of Methods, and the CFOI definitions.

Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Louisiana Workforce Commission for their efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS also appreciates the efforts of all federal, state, local, and private sector entities that provided source documents used to identify fatal work injuries nationally. See the national CFOI release Technical Notes for details on cooperating entities.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.